Next Generation Angels Awards

Award Type: Student documentary film award

Purpose: Recognizes excellence in well-researched history filmmaking by middle and high school students in the model of Ken Burns. Awards honor six short documentaries about history made by student filmmakers.

Eligibility:

• Middle school students (grades 6-8) — Junior Division
• High school students (grades 9-12) — Senior Division
• Documentary films about history themes

Award Structure:

• Six student winners annually (three per division)
• First Place, Second Place, and Third Place in each division

Recognition:

• All winning student films receive copyright
• Films preserved in perpetuity at Library of Congress
• Winners featured at annual Student History Film Festival
• Mentorship sessions with Ken Burns
• Mentorship with Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize finalists
• Professional development opportunities
• "Students Teach the Teachers" professional development event

Program Components:

• Annual Student History Documentary Film Festival
• Virtual screening and panel discussions (Q&A with students and teachers)
• "Students Teach the Teachers" sessions where student winners explain their research process
• Educational materials and curriculum guidance provided

Documentary Filmmaking Residencies:

• Regional partnerships (e.g., Philadelphia Film Society)
• 10 in-class lessons in participating schools
• Students create history documentary films
• Showcase opportunities at local film centers
• Opportunity to enter films in National History Day competitions (local, state, and national levels)

Partner:

• National History Day® (NHD)
• The Better Angels Society
• Regional film societies (e.g., Philadelphia Film Society)

Funding Partner:

• John and Jessica Fullerton (sponsors)

2023 Winners:

• Junior Division: Elayna Weintz (Listen, World: How Elsie Robinson Changed American Newspapers); Jay Patel (Pearl Kendrick, The Pioneering Researcher Who Ended a Deadly Plague); Maia Lim Laurie (The Papunya Tula Art Movement)
• Senior Division: Abigail Giroux (Wade in the Water: How African Americans Got Back Into the Pool); additional winners noted

2021 Winners:

• Senior Division: Sasha Allen (Don't Believe Your Eyes: How Visual Media Built the Cult of Stalin); Ryan Seun Woo Kwon (The Korean Diaspora: Reunion of Separated Families Through Media Communication); Melinda Chen (Oklahoma! The Dawn of a Beautiful Morning for Storytelling in Musical Theatre)
• Junior Division: Claire Flynn (Clearing the Air: How John Hersey Communicated Hiroshima Survivors' Stories to the World); Madeline Rong (Norman Rockwell: Communicating Racial Inequality Through Art); Luke Morris (Hetch Hetchy: Constructing the Framework for Modern Environmentalism)

Educational Materials:

• Documentary filmmaking curriculum available
• Guidance on concept development
• Archival research methods
• Artistic process in filmmaking
• Available on The Better Angels Society website

Contact:

• The Better Angels Society
• 5185 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 570
• Washington, DC 20016
• Phone: 202-809-9976
• Website: thebetterangelssociety.org